Corruption uncovered at high levels of Ukraine's government has helped fuel pro-Russia claims aimed at undermining support for Kiev abroad. But Ukraine's anti-corruption agency (NABU) said online articles and videos asserting it found $140 million in cash during a raid are "fake." The disinformation originated on a website that impersonated a Ukrainian media outlet, was created just days before publishing the article and vanished shortly after.
"$140 MILLION FOUND IN CASH INSIDE REFRIGERATOR BOXES AT FORMER UKRAINIAN DEFENSE OFFICIAL'S HOME," says text over a video shared September 25, 2026 to Facebook. The clip goes on to claim the cash was found in the "offices of former Defense Procurement Agency head Arsen Zhumadilov."
The short sequence purports to show soldiers with the Cyrillic text " NABU" on their vests, inspecting boxes labeled as holding Haier refrigerators but filled with US cash (archived here).
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One of the boxes in the clip has a yellow note on it reading, in Ukrainian: "For the servant of the people." The phrase is a likely reference to the title of a Ukrainian television show in which President Volodymyr Zelensky starred when he worked as an actor prior to his election to office (archived here).
The video also spread on other platforms and in multiple languages, including Hungarian, German, Czech, Slovak, French, Hindi, Greek and Polish.
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